In Montreal. During the winter.
This is the kind of stuff that made my friends in California think that the Quebecois were really, really weird people.
Dr�le de monde
La relation entre les qu�b�cois et la neige est amusante. Ils s’en plaignent constamment, ils fantasment sur le sud, ils inventent toutes sortes de trucs pour affronter l’hiver… Bref, ils sont grognons mais ils se laissent tout de m�me s�duire comme des enfants par une belle bord�e toute blanche.
En fin d’apr�s-midi, j’ai d�cid� d’aller � l’�picerie � pied m�me s’il est difficile de circuler dans les rues encore couvertes de neige et de glace. Depuis deux mois que nous habitons en banlieue, je n’avais jamais vu autant de gens dans les rues! �a pelletait, �a jasait, �a riait, �a se disait bonjour, �a prenait des nouvelles les uns des autres. (J’en ai m�me oubli� le groupe de cons d’ados qui m’a rudement interpell�e plus t�t dans la journ�e alors que je pelletais.) On aurait dit le soir de No�l dans un film hollywoodien, sauf pour le fait que tout le monde n’�tait pas blanc, ce qui rendait la sc�ne encore plus attachante. Moi qui croyais qu’il me faudrait attendre � l’�t� avant de voir un peu d’activit� dans les rues!
Je suis rentr�e � la maison avec les joues rouges, le nez qui coule et un sourire un peu idiot sur les l�vres.
Oh, et pour ceux qui se le demandent, oui, le chat est encore en vie.
If I never post again, call 911
A florist came by this weekend to deliver a gift from our real estate agent. It was a poinsettia, a plant I am not usually fond of but this one was packaged nicely so I decided to display it.
« Aren’t those poisonous to animals? », asked B.
« I’m not sure. My mom always had them and it wasn’t a problem with her cat », I replied.
Still, to be safe, I decided to put the plant high up on a stand, where monsieur le chat Spiff wouldn’t be able to reach it.
B. went to work and I got out to shovel all the beautiful snow that fell last night (I mean ALL of it, at least that’s how it felt.) As I was clearing the area around the backyard, I looked through our patio doors and saw that the poinsettia was on the floor, the dirt spread all around it.
Oh, oh…
I came back in and saw that the plant had been chewed on. I checked on Spiff, who seemed as grumpy as usual, and did some research on the Web about the poisonous potential of poinsettias.
Some Web sites tell you to take your cat to the vet right away if he chews on the plant. Death is a possibility.
Other ones claim that it’s a myth, a kind of rural legend that won’t go away, and that there are no record of a poinsettia poisoning people or pets.
I checked again on Spiff: He was drinking out of my water glass.
That’s the glass I keep on my desk next to me when I work. Does he always do this when I have my back turned?
Now I’m the one who feels queasy and who’s likely to start foaming at the mouth…